The Michigan Freedom Fund filed a campaign finance complaint against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday with the Bureau of Elections regarding ten donors from her “$100,000 Club,” according to a report.
The complaint being filed was due to ten of her donors that allegedly violated the state law for donating $100,000 or more to Whitmer’s campaign since Michigan’s campaign contribution limit is $7,150, the Center Square reported
Michigan Freedom Fund obtained her donor’s names and dollar amount from the governors’ campaign finance statement from July that was filed with the Secretary of State.
The Michigan Freedom Fund on Tuesday filed a formal campaign finance complaint, saying a series of political donations to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer far exceeded the state's $7,150 limit. https://t.co/5MvJNY7QDl
— The Center Square (@thecentersquare) September 14, 2021
The report notes the state law for officeholders facing a recall effort is allowed to collect donations with no limit. However, Whitmer is not facing a recall. For those not facing a recall, there is a $7,150 campaign contribution limit.
The group’s executive director Tori Sachs reportedly filed the complaint with the Bureau of Elections under the Secretary of State’s office. Center Square explained the violations and the reasoning for the complaint:
This past July, [Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson] received and returned an illegal excessive contribution of $6,150 from trial lawyer Mark Bernstein, while retaining the $7,150 legal contribution limit. On the same day, Whitmer collected $250,000 from Bernstein after he’d donated $7,150 to the governor in December.
The complaint notes Bernstein is the president and managing partner of the Sam Bernstein Law Firm, a firm whose advertising claims to “fight to make sure everyone gets a fair shake.” Sachs writes in her complaint: “In this case, a fair shake is applying Michigan’s contribution limits fairly to all contributors, and when they intentionally violate the law – like Bernstein – making them pay the usual penalty of 100% of the illegal contribution.”
The executive director, in the complaint, asked Benson to “force the governor to relinquish any amounts from a single donor exceeding $7,150, as well as pay a fine equal to the illegal amount.”
“Whitmer’s $100,000 Club is comprised of far-left liberals who illegally gave Whitmer’s campaign six-figure donations – a violation of state law that limits the amount a person can give to $7,150,” Sachs said, according to Center Square.
Sachs noted, “Each of the individuals named in the MFF complaint violated MCL 169.252 by making excessive contributions to the Whitmer campaign.”
Follow Jacob Bliss on Twitter @jacobmbliss.
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